Category Archives: Very Budget Friendly

Food is not included in the U.S. Government’s Inflation numbers. But, anyone with common sense knows that Food is one of the things we all spend the most money on other than housing and maybe gasoline (also not included when calculating inflation). That said, everyone needs budget friendly meals to help ends meet. Please feel free to share your favorites!

Mexican Enchiladas with Red “Rojo” Sauce

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Ever since Maria shared her enchilada sauce recipe with me, I make it often. I don’t always “roll” the tortillas but often just layer the tortillas like lasagna noodles with the chicken, sauce, onion and cheese. That particular “like lasagna”  method will save you alot of time. And if you purchase the cheese already shredded and use leftover roasted chicken, it is a dinner you can heat up and have on the table in minutes. With the sauce recipe I listed here, I made 16 enchiladas rolled in two small dishes. I poached two chicken breasts and used all of the meat (about 2 cups). And about 1 15 ounce bag of shredded cheese.

 

  • Corn tortillas
  • Shredded Jack Cheese or Queso Ranchera Cheese
  • 1 Onion, chopped fine OR 3 Green Onions chopped 
  • Cooked shredded chicken
  • Easy Enchilada Sauce

 

Cooked shredded chicken (store bought rotisserie chicken or leftover roasted chicken works well in this recipe. Otherwise, just poach some chicken pieces in salted water until done and pull the meat off the bones discarding the skin and grizzle or just poach skinless, boneless breasts and slice or shred ).

 

 

Corn tortillas are usually gluten-free.

Corn tortillas are usually gluten-free.

Using a tong, add some vegetable oil  to a pan. Heat each tortilla on each side in the oil and put aside on a plate.

 

 

Place some of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.

 

 

 

Layer Chicken, Cheese and Onions, then roll.

Layer Chicken, Cheese and Onions, then roll.

Dunk the tortilla in the sauce, fill with a little cheese, onion and chicken (I make mine with no chicken actually as I prefer plain cheese). Roll and place seam side down.

 

Roll the remaining tortillas up. Top with more sauce being sure to save some of the sauce for topping before serving.

Red Enchiladas, ready to heat and eat!

Red Enchiladas, ready to heat and eat!

 

 

Sprinkle more cheese on top. Heat until the cheese melts in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven. 

 

 

 

Hong Kong Milk Tea

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Iced tea is one of my favorite homemade beverages to make and keep in the fridge. Not only is it as easy as boiling water (and adding and removing the tea bags ) but its also an amazingly inexpensive alternative to other store-bought beverages and therefore

Sweet and luscious. Easy Hong Kong Milk Tea.

Sweet and luscious. Easy Hong Kong Milk Tea.

extremely budget-friendly. Snapple-like mixtures are easy to recreate by adding lemon, berries, mint, cucumber or other fun additions from the garden.  

 

Instead of adding sugar, you can add any sweetener you like such as honey, agave, Stevia or even no sweetener at all so it’s also easy to make your own “diet” iced tea blends. Use Almond Milk if you are a Vegan.

 

This tea is my daughter’s favorite and like all the recipes I share here, amazingly easy. Because I don’t really like the flavor of Green Tea but it has excellent health benefits, I sometimes add a Green Tea bag in with the Black Tea  which masks the flavor of the Green Tea completely. I also love making this tea with Earl Grey tea. 

 

  • 5 Black Tea bags
  • 1 Quart Water
  • 1 can of Condensed Milk (sweetened or unsweetened) or 1 C Cream or  1 1/2 Cups Half and Half or Milk, or 1 Cup Almond Milk 
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar (omit if you are using sweetened milk. You can also add any preferred sweetener).

 

Tear the paper tops off of the tea bags and place in a pot full of water.

 

Add the sugar or sweetener to allow it to melt into the water when heating.

 

Bring water to a boil, then turn off the flame and let the tea bags steep for 10 minutes or longer if you prefer until the color of the water is nice and brown.

 

Remove the tea bags, pour the tea into a pitcher, add the condensed milk or other milk. Mix, chill and enjoy with or without ice. 

 

My Favorite, Easy Vinaigrette

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When my husband and I dropped our son off at college in Santa Cruz, California, we were blown away by the local ingredients (e.g. organic produce grown and served on campus) and loved how the student cafeterias featured other local products like salad dressings. We saw beautiful young adults from all over the globe sitting under trees reading books

Organic horticulture grown on campus at U.C.S.C. is served on campus to lucky U.C.S.C. students.

Organic horticulture grown on campus at U.C.S.C. is served on campus to lucky U.C.S.C. students.

and thought…..”How wonderful to be able to just read and learn every day while someone else cooks for you and you get to eat these types of wonderful ingredients!”. Youth may indeed be wasted on the young. 

 

But not all salad dressings are created equal. While there are many dressings in the marketplace that are healthy and free of GMOs, dangerous pesticides and other questionable ingredients, there are many that aren’t. Just pick up random bottles when you’re in the market and read the label. 

 

Not only are homemade salad dressings budget-friendly and quick and easy to make, but you can really taste the salad ingredients. In my opinion, the dressing should enhance the salad itself, not drown it’s flavor. 

 

The other trick that my friend Maura showed me is put VERY little dressing on the salad and be SURE to add Salt and Pepper directly onto the salad itself (not just the dressing). 

 

The trick to a great salad is very little dressing and Salt and Pepper on the greens.

The trick to a dressing a delicious salad is add very little dressing and add Salt and Pepper directly on the greens.

  • 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1/2-1 Teaspoon Dijon (or just a small squirt! I don’t usually measure frankly).
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

 

Mix with a fork. Add oil last. No need to add the oil slowly because the mustard will emulsify the dressing together. I also like to add sugar to this recipe when I top a salad that includes fruit.

easy dressing recipe healthy balsamic vinegar california restaurant

 

 

 

 

 

Italian Wedding Soup

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This is a staple in our house and I always make it after Thanksgiving as it’s a great way to use up Leftover Turkey. You can also use Chicken, Sausage or Meatballs.

 

  • Two cleaned Carrots , chopped
  • Two Stalks Celery, chopped
  • 1/2 Onion, chopped
  • 6 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
  • Water or broth to fill up 1/2 to 2/3rd of large pot
  • Cut up Chicken or Turkey (or Whole Meatballs or Sliced Sausage)
  • 1-2 Scrambled Eggs
  • Several  handfuls of Spinach (about 1/2 package but can vary).
  • 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Bring water to a boil in and add vegetables (except Spinach).

 

Let simmer to make a vegetable broth.

 

Add poultry or meat or sausage.

 

Add Spinach, push down to cover with simmering liquid.

 

When Spinach is cooked, swirl in the Egg and then immediately swirl in the Parmesan.

 

Serve hot.

 

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